The entire nation seemed to condemn last week’s federal court ruling that the
pledge of allegiance cannot be recited in schools. The notion that the phrase
"one nation under God"renders
the pledge unconstitutional is ridiculous to most Americans, who strongly
believe that expressions of religious belief should be an integral part of
public life. Yet although the public outcry against this terrible ruling is
understandable, the real issue of religious freedom has not been addressed by
Congress or the media.

The judges who made this unfortunate
ruling simply do not understand the First amendment. It does not bar religious
expression in public settings or anywhere else. In fact, it expressly prohibits
federal interference in the free expression of religion. Far from mandating
strict secularism in schools, it instead bars the federal government from
prohibiting the pledge of allegiance, school prayer, or any other religious
expression. The politicians and judges pushing the removal of religion from
public life are violating the First amendment, not upholding it.

It’s important to recognize that the
First amendment applies only to Congress. Remember, the first sentence
starts with "Congress shall make no law..." This means that matters of
religious freedom and expression should be decided by the states, with disputes
settled in state courts. The First amendment acts as a simple check on federal
power, ensuring that the federal government has no jurisdiction or authority
whatsoever over religious issues. The phony "incorporation" doctrine,
dreamed up by activist judges to pervert the plain meaning of the Constitution,
was used once again by a federal court to assume jurisdiction over a case that
constitutionally was none of its business.

Similarly, the mythical separation of
church and state doctrine has no historical or constitutional basis. Neither the
language of the Constitution itself nor the legislative history reveals any
mention of such separation. In fact, the authors of the First amendment- Fisher
Ames and Elbridge Gerry- and the rest of the founders routinely referred to
"Almighty God" in their writings, including the Declaration of
Independence. It is only in the last 50 years that federal courts have perverted
the meaning of the amendment and sought to unlawfully restrict religious
expression. We cannot continue to permit our Constitution and our rich religious
institutions to be degraded by profound misinterpretations of the Bill of
Rights.

I previously introduced legislation
entitled "The First Amendment Restoration Act" to address this kind of
judicial overreach and reassert true First amendment religious freedoms. The
bill becomes especially timely now, as it clarifies that federal courts have no
jurisdiction whatsoever over matters of religious freedom. It also restores real
religious freedom by making it clear that the federal government cannot forbid
expressions of religion, including the Ten Commandments, in either public or
private life.